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US 2026/0194561 A1Published application
Fiber Optic Current Sensor Module for Switchgear Metering and Field-Testing Applications
AssigneeOpticAmpere LLC
InventorAdam Jon Zbinden
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fiber optic current sensor (FOCS) installation module for online switchgear metering and portable field testing applications, which mechanically integrates fiber optic current loop sensors with electrical power system conductors to provide online current metering data in low and medium voltage switchgear installations, or for collecting electrical test data, including partial discharge measurements for medium voltage cables and equipment and harmonic current surveys for power quality studies.
Claims2
A fiber optic current sensor (FOCS) module, which provides a complete magneto-optical flux integration path around an electrical conductor, comprising:
- An electrically insulated and non-conductive fiber optic current sensor module, featuring an integrated mounting and support section with bolt holes for mounting said module in a switchgear cabinet interior surface, where a mechanically integrated interior micro conduit with vibration dampening supports insulates a fiber optic current sensor cable routed within said fiber optic current sensor module, and where said interior fiber optic cable is terminated at input and output ports on said mounting and support location of said fiber optic current sensor module which interface with a proximate fiber optic polarization filtering module, which contains a linear polarizer which filters an optical input to said fiber optic current sensor module, and a polarization maintaining optical coupler which divides an output of said fiber optic current sensor module at four polarization maintaining fiber optic outputs where each of said outputs is fusion spliced to fiber optic circular polarizers comprising a linearly birefringent fiber optic cable tuned to produce quarter wave phase retardance fusion spliced to a linearly polarizing fiber optic cable with transmission axis aligned at 45° relative to the fast and slow axes of the quarter wave phase delay producing fiber optic cable of said circular polarizer, where a first 3 of said circular polarizers are spliced in circular configuration at offset angles of 0°, 45°, and 90° to the polarization maintaining outputs of the 1:4 fiber coupler, while a fourth circular polarizer is fusion spliced in linear configuration to the fourth fiber coupler output and where interrogation of the S3 channel monitors perturbations to sensor network linear birefringence which transduces environmental factors including vibration and temperature, and where an opto-electronic transceiver module is comprised of a battery source with linear voltage regulator which provides electrical power for a single mode optical transmitter and a photo-diode array which transmits analog voltage outputs to a digital signal processor chip with integrated analog to digital conversion inputs and where said digital signal processor chip has outputs for display or networking.
A lead-extending, manually switchable fiber optic current sensor (FOCS) field testing module, which provides a complete magneto-optical flux integration path around an electrical conductor in a field environment, comprising:
- A docking location for a fiber optic current sensor interrogator, with input and output ports at a top location of said docking location connecting with a set of duplexed fiber optic transmission cables housed within insulating conduit and connecting via a 3-port fiber optic circulator with a fiber optic current sensor transducer cable housed within a flexible protective jacket, and where a support brace is connected in parallel to said conduit, and integrates an incompressible and inelastic mechanical force linkage between said fiber optic cable sensor, and a handle, using a plurality of fiber optic cable jacket support brackets connected to said mechanical linkage, and where the fiber optic cable sensor housed within the protective jacket which is supported by said brackets is terminated at a lossless reflective optical mirror at an end point location of said fiber optic current sensor cable insulated within said fiber cable jacket, after a location on said device where a final fiber sensor cable jacket support bracket terminates said mechanical linkage, and where said end point features a moveable keyed latching mechanism which connects with a stationary keyed latching mechanism located on an initial fiber optic cable support bracket located on the support brace of the device, and where the handle can switch an optical port on the fiber optic current sensor cable between open and closed states, via its terminated reflective mirror end face connection located on the fiber optic cable sensor jacket, using a rotatable bearing mechanism located at a topmost location of the support brace, and where a plurality of intermediate mechanical linkages between said handle, and said inelastic and incompressible mechanical linkage which actuates the fiber optic switch via the support brackets, provides additional degrees of freedom for actuation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.